INTRODUCTION POST Ko wai ahau?

Tēnā koutou katoa 
Ānei tōku pepeha 
Ko Puharareke te Maunga 
Ko Waihakeke te Awa 
Ko Kurahaupō te Waka 
Ko Kaiuku te Marae 
Ko Hikairo te Rangatira 
Ko Ngai Tū te Hapu 
Ko Rongomaiwahine te Iwi 
No Te Mahia-mai-Tawhiti āhau 
Ko Pat rāua ko Sue aku mātua 
Ko James taku hoa rangatira 
Ko Bridgette, ko Tim ā māua tamariki 
Ko Nicky tōku ingoa 
No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa 

Kia ora everyone, I live in Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay) and after being born here I have lived in different parts of Hawke’s Bay my entire life. After finishing secondary school at Napier Girls High School I trained as a teacher at Massey in the Manawatū and have taught in primary schools here in Hawkes Bay for the past 22 years. My partner and I live on a dairy farm in Takapau, (Central Hawkes Bay) and I have two step children; Bridgette 23 an agronomist in Gisborne and Tim a shepherd on a sheep and beef farm just out of Gisborne. 

After 22 years of teaching in primary schools, I have held different roles within teaching and leadership with a special interest in mathematics, digital technologies and Aotearoa New Zealand histories education. My mother was a teacher and from an early age, that was what I wanted to be as well. I was career-driven early on and wanted to move into leadership quickly to become a ‘mover and a shaker.’ I wanted to lead and nurture future teachers to become the very best versions of themselves professionally, and to provide an education that our akonga would remember well into their futures as well. I was lucky to have a very positive experience at school and looked up to many of my teachers throughout the years, and wanted to emulate many of the positive experiences I had had myself in education. 

I’ve struggled my entire life with the positioning from the Ministry of Education about a one-size-fits-all all model. Politics in education infuriates me as we bounce from policy to policy with current and latter governments. I have never been one to settle for status quo or doing what we’ve always done and my ability to think out of the box and be transformative with akonga, is an attribute I am proud of. For me, transformative education is a space where educators have a deep understanding of their ākonga, their whakapapa and their cultural identity, whatever their culture is. As well as having a mindset of being able to focus on the positives such as cultural capital, their interests, strengths and dreams about who they see themselves to be. A mana-enhancing approach of building on the many strengths the child beings with them already is pivotal for me. 

The opportunity to be enrolled in Post-graduate papers is allowing my beliefs to be further enriched and challenged and I am certain this Transforming Education paper will ensure my learning journey continues to evolve. My hopes with this paper are to grow, learn and evolve!



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